


Bound For Moving On

by Brumeier



Category: The Trixie Belden Mysteries - Julie Campbell Tatham & Kathryn Kenny
Genre: Activism, Alternate Universe - 1960s, Celebrities, Compromise, Family Issues, Gen, Musicians, Social Commentary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:20:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26665834
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: The Belden Family Singers are famous folk artists, but Trixie is tired of singing the old standards and wants something different. Convincing her brothers will be the hard part.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 4
Collections: What If? AU Challenge





	Bound For Moving On

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vanillafluffy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vanillafluffy/gifts).



> Written for: whatif_au: music & ficlet_zone: Moody Blues titles - Just A Singer
> 
> For vanillafluffy, for whom I write all my Trixie fic. ::grins::

_Four strong winds that blow lonely_  
_Seven seas that run high_  
_All those things that don’t change, come what may_  
_But our good times are all gone_  
_And I’m bound for moving on_  
_I’ll look for you if I’m ever back this way_

Trixie carefully set her guitar back on the stand before storming out of the barn in her bare feet.

“You’re being ridiculous!” Mart called after her.

Trixie thought some very unflattering things in response, but she didn’t voice them. Instead, she silently fumed as she stomped up and down the alley between the trees in the apple orchard.

She was tired of her brothers not taking her seriously. Well, Bobby didn’t, but he was too young to have been brainwashed. Trixie was one third of the Belden Family Singers, so why didn’t her opinion count as much as Mart’s and Brian’s? It was miss…missal…It was anti-woman, is what it was.

“Trixie?”

Honey approached tentatively from the end of the alley. No surprise that Brian sent his girl, and Trixie’s best friend, to do his dirty work.

“No,” Trixie said. “Not this time, Honey Wheeler. I’m tired of them shooting me down.”

Honey held up her hands placatingly. “I know it’s frustrating.”

“You really don’t.”

Trixie loved Honey, she really did, but Honey hadn’t grown up in the spotlight. The Belden Family Singers were a national phenomenon, and that meant Trixie and her brothers hadn’t had a normal childhood. They toured the country in a bus, they’d played on Ed Sullivan, and they had tutors instead of going to school.

Not that Honey’s life had been any easier, growing up an only child to two rich but distant parents, but she got to attend Sleepyside High School and do normal teenage things, like go to dances and football games. Meanwhile, Trixie and her brothers were almost always working – writing new songs, rearranging songs written by others, practicing out in the old barn, traveling into the city to the recording studio.

“You have to think of the fans,” Honey said imploringly. 

“And what about our integration?”

“Integrity,” Honey corrected. “You don’t have to be a social activist. Your music makes people happy. That’s important too.”

“We have a responsibility!” Trixie insisted. “There’s a lot wrong in this country right now, and we need to speak up.”

She’d been making that same argument for months. Yes, they’d gotten famous singing old standards and original folk music, but Trixie felt that they needed to grow. Evolve. How could she keep singing ballads and nature songs when boys she knew were dying in Vietnam and colored people were being sprayed with fire hoses and every night the news was full of chaos and uncertainty?

“You don’t have to politicize the band,” Honey said.

“Then maybe it’s time I went solo.” Trixie felt a little light-headed when she said it. The thought had been in the back of her mind for a long time, but she’d never voiced it aloud. 

She’s never performed without her brothers.

“Are you serious?” Mart appeared, with Brian close behind him. No doubt waiting until they figured Honey had calmed things down. “Trixie, we’re a trio. We’ve always been a trio.”

Trixie hated that Mart looked so hurt, but now that she’d put the thought out there, she stood by it.

“You can still be a trio. Bobby will be old enough in a year or two, just like that little Jackson brother. He can take my spot. Or call the Hubbell twins and form a quartet. They worked well with us on the last tour.”

“I think you’re being a little dramatic,” Brian said. “Have you even talked about this with Moms and Dad?”

“I’m not being dramatic, I’m being reasonable,” Trixie insisted. “Our goals aren’t the same anymore. I want to sing songs about what’s happening now, what matters to people in this moment.”

Mart crossed his arms, face stormy. “Who do you think you are? The next Bob Dylan?”

“No, I think I’m the only one with a conscious!”

“Stop it!” Honey snapped. Her eyes were swimming with tears, but her tone was sharp. “You were family before you were ever a musical group. You should be supporting each other, not tearing each other down.”

She turned her back on the three of them and walked off with her head held high. Brian sighed.

“Why do you girls always have to be so emotional?”

“I’m going to pretend you didn’t say that, Brian Belden. Moms would tan your hide if she heard you talking like that.”

Brian had the good sense to look chagrined. He was supposed to be the sensitive one, at least according to their female fans. Mart was the brain, because he knew so many big words, and Trixie was the tomboy. And maybe she didn’t know a lot of fancy words, but she knew her business.

“Look. I like the old standards as much as you guys do, but we can’t sing that stuff forever. Young kids don’t want to hear _Greensleeves_. We need to mix in more topical stuff. Stay relatable.”

“When did you get so smart?” Mart asked. Trixie could tell he was impressed, even though he tried to make it sound sarcastic.

“This is my life too,” Trixie replied. “I’m not just a singer.”

“I don’t think we should be too hasty,” Brian cautioned. “Look at all the trouble the Smothers Brothers are having right now. It’s because they got too political.”

Mart looked thoughtful. “Yeah, but people our age love them. Maybe Trixie’s right. We could start small. Add in a new song that’s not too controversial but still shows we’re aware of the conflicts other kids are facing.”

Trixie could hardly believe her ears. “Really? You’re not just putting me on?”

Brian still looked skeptical, but he wouldn’t go against the majority. “I guess. If we can agree on a song.”

“I have heaps of them! I’ll go get my notebook!”

Trixie raced up the alley toward the farmhouse. She was so excited! The idea of going solo was still firmly lodged in her mind, and she thought that would probably happen sooner rather than later, but in the meantime, she was glad to be able to keep singing with her brothers. She just hoped choosing a current events song wouldn’t be a one-off, because she had a lot to say and she wanted to be heard. 

Trixie Belden wasn’t just a singer. She was a person with feelings and ideas and opinions, and the best way she knew to express them was through music. And now she’d finally have her chance.

_Write us a book of instructions or signs_  
_And if it's been written_  
_Then give us more time_  
_Recite a poem or sing us a song_  
_And tell us you love us_  
_So we don't feel alone._

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** When I was pondering this month’s AU challenge, I toyed with a lot of different ideas. And then I thought about Trixie looking to go solo from a family band and this happened. ::grins:: I set it in the 60s because sometimes today it feels like I’ve time-traveled, given the current state of things in this country.
> 
> Also, it’s a little bit of a slap back to people I work with (who I know will never read this, LOL!) who complain when celebrities make political statements, because they should just ‘stay in their lane’. I disagree with that.
> 
> **Song List**
> 
> [Four Strong Winds](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kpsy46_6wsQ), The Chad Mitchell Trio
> 
> [The Good Book](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HroaXmBbBDY), Melanie


End file.
